Notes from Trends '98 Conference
Orlando, Florida, October 2, 1998

When You Shouldn't Use HTML-Based Delivery Systems
and What to Use Instead

Nicole Williams and Brian Fleming
Senior Training and Multimedia Consultants
Bianco Hopkins & Associates, Norcross, GA

• Bianco Hopkins operates a mobile training van--literally a Winnebago with a server and 8 workstations...roll up, plug in, line 'em up, move 'em out, keep those trainees rollin', rawhide! [Apologies to Molly and Edgar and other discouragingly young employees upon whom this once-obvious television show reference is probably wasted!]
• The key to finding the right delivery system to meet the situation is to analyze the requirements, understand the process, and know what each tool has to deliver.
• Basic life cycle for a delivery system (tried and true!):
   
• Analyze
• Design
• Develop
• Test
• Produce
• Maintain
• When not to use an HTML-based delivery system:
   
• When the client is absolutely committed to another tool
• When the client absolutely refuses to upgrade to a new technology.
• Understand the limitations of HTML:
   
• Graphics
• Speed
• Browsers
  
  Note: You must have Internet Explorer 4.0 (IE4) to use the full features of HTML Help. Compiled HTML Help requires control files on the host platform, duly registered with MicroSoft--and you have to have IE4 to use them. The ActiveX controls for key features like pop-up Help windows, "hot-spot" image mapping, and the like are all proprietary to IE4 and are not supported by Netscape Navigator. Netscape users also fall prey to onerous cross-browser compatibility issues with filenames, margins, etc.
  
  The inescapable conclusion: Bill Gates rules. As it stands right now, if you have a Netscape browser, you can't use HTML-based Help with any degree of effectiveness. However, when JavaHelp hits the street next year, its universal cross-platform language will reopen advanced automated Help techniques to Netscape users--at least until Gates figures out a way to snarf up Java!
  
  As the presenter dryly observed to fellow Netscape diehards: "Nobody likes 800-pound gorillas, but 800-pound gorillas win."
• Know user platform limitations: For example, the lowest common denominator among user workstations may mandate the use of WinHelp 3.1. If a significant portion of your users have workstations and browsers that will not support HTML-based help, you are obviously not serving them by using it.
• Know the limitations for HTML for multimedia (even with IE4):
   
• Colors
• Audio
• Video


Important: File size really matters. In fact, it's critical!
• Tables are much easier to create in HTML-Help (and in Web-Help) than they are in WinHelp.
• JavaHelp should bring WebHelp up to HTML-Help in sophistication, and it will be accessible to Netscape users.
• Bottom line: HTML-Help is very capable but restrained-proprietary. JavaHelp may fix that. In the mean time, WinHelp may still be the tool of choice in many situations. Remember, the basic steps of good writing and analysis are the same regardless of the tools.